Garlic Herb-Butter Roasted Chicken

Follow my method for garlic herb-butter roasted chicken for roasted chicken with flavorful rich-brown crispy skin, and tender, juicy meat.

When I think of Sunday, I think of a day of rest. A day of reflection on a week gone by and a look ahead to the week about to begin. I also think of garlic herb-butter roasted chicken roasting in the oven as the whole house smells like Sunday supper.

This chicken is roasted with garlic, lemon, and herbs in the cavity and basted with a delicious aromatic herb butter. This chicken is quite easy to prepare; with just a little nurture, the results are amazing!

David loves this garlic herb-roasted chicken. He can hardly stop eating whenever I make it and always leaves the table full and happy. I can’t say I blame him; it’s pure comfort food. It’s satisfying, cozy, and warm. And Lord knows it’s delicious!

Roasting a whole may seem a little intimidating, and anyone can make this recipe. Besides, buying a whole chicken is an inexpensive meal that can feed 4 to 6 people, depending on its size.

Don’t be afraid of boring dry chicken! This recipe doesn’t require a lot of effort. You just need to know the basics. Follow my method for roasting chicken, and you will get a roasted chicken with rich-brown crispy skin, and tender, incredibly juicy meat with amazing flavor every time.

What Chicken Do I Buy?

I like to buy broiler chickens to roast. They are larger, and you get more from them. However, broilers, fryers, and roasters can be used interchangeably. Buy whatever suits your needs based on size. The general rule of thumb is about half a pound per person.

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Garlic Herb-Butter Roasted Chicken

The recipe card at the end of this post lists the full ingredient list with measurements.

Chicken: 5-pound roasting chicken is ideal for this recipe. Look for “roasting hen” on the package. A Perdue Oven Stuffer is ideal.

Herb-Butter: unsalted butter (½-stick), garlic, rosemary, thyme, onion powder, lemon zest, juice, Kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.

For the Cavity: place ½ a lemon inside the cavity of the chicken along with some fresh rosemary and garlic.

Convection Baking Chicken

• Most recipes start with a higher temperature and then reduce to a lower roasting temperature. I like roasting my chicken long and slow, which results in tender juicy chicken.
• Set your oven for convection baking if you have it. The chicken will cook more evenly, and the skin will brown up and become perfectly crispy.
• Roasting a chicken on a rack allows the heat to circulate around the chicken to help with browning the skin and even cooking. It also allows the juices of the poultry to baste over itself.

If you don’t have a convection bake oven or a roasting pan with a rack, keep on reading! We can work around that to get the same results.

How To make Herb-Butter Roasted Chicken

Here’s a basic overview of how to roast chicken. The recipe card at the end of this post provides detailed instructions with times and temperatures.

Prepare the Garlic Herb-Butter

In a small pot over low heat, mix the minced garlic with the butter, herbs, onion powder, lemon juice, and zest—season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit until needed.

Prepare the Chicken For Roasting

Remove the neck bone and giblets from the inside of the chicken’s cavity. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure that the chicken is completely dry. Moisture will keep the skin from browning and won’t be crispy. Dry all crevices where water can get trapped well. Make sure you dry the inner legs and flip them over to get under the wings.

Place the chicken breast side up on a rack inside a shallow roasting pan or a deep baking pan.

Salt and pepper the chicken all over and inside the cavity wall. Smash the three (3) remaining garlic cloves with the side of a chef’s knife to release their natural oils and flavor. Then fill the cavity of the chicken with them, ½ a lemon, and sprigs of rosemary.

Brush the chicken with garlic herb butter. Tie the legs together with the butcher’s twine. Tuck the wings under the body, if desired. Insert the temperature probe of the cooking thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (usually the breast area) if using.

Roast the Garlic Herb-Butter Chicken

Place the roasting pan in the center of the oven, set the goal cooking temperature of the thermometer to 165 degrees F, and bake. The basic rule of thumb is to cook meat for approximately 20 minutes per pound.

After an hour, if not using a probe thermometer, use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. At this point, the internal temperature should be hovering around 150 degrees.

Brush the chicken with its own juices from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to roast. Tent the chicken with foil as it begins to overbrown.

Continue to roast the chicken and baste every thirty minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165 degrees F; about 2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the oven and baste one last time. Let the roasted chicken rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

Recipe Tips

• If you do not have a roasting pan with a rack, you can do one of the following:
  • Mold a large sheet of aluminum foil into a thick roll, then coil it up under the chicken on the bottom of a baking dish or shallow pan.
  • OR place the chicken on top of sliced vegetables. The sliced vegetables will baste in the juices of the chicken. The vegetables can become a side dish making them the ideal solution for not having a rack. Yum!

A 5-pound chicken may seem like a lot for two people, but we always plan for leftovers. David and I eat all of the dark meat first. We do this intentionally to have leftover roasted chicken breast for other dishes during the week, such as Chicken and Rice With Biscuits on Top, Chicken Enchilada Chili, or Chicken Salad. The possibilities are endless with delicious roasted breast meat.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe on Sunday!